Galchenyuk signs

[Gerry]

3 yrs, $4.9M AAV...

[Gerry]

On Wednesday, July 5, 2017 at 6:52:03 PM UTC-4, Gerry wrote:
> 3 yrs, $4.9M AAV...

I would say the Habs are doing themselves a disservice either way here. At the end of this, he's UFA. Maybe they would have paid more if they were buying UFA years. In the meantime, they're slotting him behind Drouin, and that is not going to help him produce better or be more inclined to stick around when he's a free agent.

Of course, maybe it makes him easier to trade as well, I guess we'll see.

But having a contract done is at least better than not having one.

l8r,
Gerry

[TheMadApe]

On 2017-07-05 07:52 PM, Gerry wrote:
> 3 yrs, $4.9M AAV...
>

Sweet. Now they only need a center and a defenceman :)

TMA

[mike]

Flip him to Edmonton for Draisaitl? They may be enticed into it with the huge contract to McDavid on the horizon. I know that it isn't a fair trade but the cap makes it hard to pay everyone the way you'd like to.

[Mike]

They have $9.1M cap space left. Hard to imagine 'ol BArgin Bin Bergy is
going to let that sit there all year.

[Nyssa]

Hey, I like this!

My pet would have a MUCH better chance at winning a Cup
with the Oilers before he'll see one in Montreal.

Nyssa, who can't believe that she's even thinking that
way at this point

[Nyssa]

With that much cash in his virtual pocket, he could go after
Ignila, Jagr, *and* another of the generic (geriatric?) bargain
bin UFAs out there.

Of the ones out there, I'd love to see Iggy in a Habs sweater
since I've always been a fan of his. But I doubt it will happen.

I predict more posturing by MB in trying to make a deal with
Joe Sakic.

Nyssa, who thinks MB is doing everything *except* plugging
the wide open holes in the lineup

[Gerry]

I would be slightly irate if the Habs picked up another bargain bin forward, tbh. Right now, I have a cap projection which injects De La Rose in the lineup, but not Hudon or Carr. That's with 13F/8D. They could go 14F/7D and salvage one of those other forwards. But every F they sign from now on bumps somebody to waivers.

Now, I'm not too sure about Carr. He actually stepped in very nicely and surprisingly and has actually shown the most of all these 3 guys so far. But he's also 25 already and I'll suggest he has the least upside. He's maybe like a Matt D'Agostini. And since we already have Gallagher and Shaw, maybe the way he goes to the net, while good, is a less essential ingredient.

As for Hudon and De La Rose. I assume the Habs still have highest hopes for De La Rose. He was just starting to tack on a little bit of offense in the AHL last year. I don't think offense will ever be his thing. But he's big and plays a solid north-south game, which NHL teams appreciate, and is still just 22. I think he's first in line to not-waive. And they gave him a 1-way contract. I see him and Martinsen alternating as extra forward/injury sub.

Hudon has the most upside. He has great hockey sense. He may lack a little tempo/speed for the NHL, which is his main question mark. Well, that and not having size. He's not tiny per se, but the Habs have a lot of undersized forwards already, and so Hudon has to really stand out to get added to the mix. If he was on waivers, I'd snatch him up quick if I was in another NHL city. He has such good instincts, sneaky-good release, a lot of just really un-teachable natural offensive intellect. He's kind of like Drouin, but in slow motion. It would suck to lose him on waivers.

Anyway, waiving one of these guys, ok, Carr maybe gets through. Waiving two or three would be awful. Habs don't have enough prospect depth to squander young assets. As much as I've liked Iginla or Doan over the years, I don't think the Habs should go that direction. They picked Hemsky, that's gotta be it.

> Nyssa, who thinks MB is doing everything *except* plugging
> the wide open holes in the lineup

Bang on. He's running around like a chicken with his head cut off, but when all the dust and squawking settles... where is the C, where is the PMD, what makes the team any better?

l8r,
Gerry

[Chuck]

Is there such thing as a team that either has a surplus of centers cabable of scoring 70+ points or a team willing to create a hole in their line up by trading the same capable center in order to acquire Galchenyuk?

[Mike]

On 2017-07-06 01:49 PM, Chuck wrote:
> Is there such thing as a team that either has a surplus of centers cabable of scoring 70+ points or a team willing to create a hole in their line up by trading the same capable center in order to acquire Galchenyuk?
>

Easy now Chuck - you're starting to sound like Bergy :-)

You raise a good point but salary restraints and the cap may make for a
possible trade especially if Montreal was to part with someone like
Pacioretty and his beauty of a contract that still has 2 years remaining
on it. It could happen - probably wont but could.

[Nyssa]

That's why I say the team is worse overall than before all
of these non-signings and trades.

Add in the problem of incorporating the new guys into the
line up and re-building any chemistry on lines or pairings
there might be there rather than building off the little
bit of chemistry that *was* there from last season, such
as Radulov had with several guys, and you can easily see
it's uphill after training camp starts.

One step forward (Drouin, etc.) and two steps back (losing
Radu, Markov, etc.).

Nyssa, who has very little enthusiasm for the start of next
season at this point

[Chuck]

If they must trade anyone, I`d trade Max Pac. With his nice contract I think the return could be good. Montreal wants him out front leading the team. Not going to happen. He is a Phil Kessel type player who thrives as long as the pressure is not on him. As productive as he is, those around him are not pushed to a higher level by his presence. His contract ends in two years, no doubt he will ask for a significant raise. Until he can prove to be a money player, that makes his line mates more productive, I`d shop him

[Chuck]

On Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 4:53:17 PM UTC-4, Mike wrote:

Ekfraud claims the Islanders still have an eye on Galchenyuk. Other then Travares they have no centers that would fill Montreal's needs.

[TheMadApe]

He would excel with a forward that was an expert playmaker. Max is what
he is...a goal scorer. He is not much for the dirty areas but a 30+ goal
man is a prized possession. Keep him unless the deal is too good to pass
up. I would never 'shop' him.

TMA

[Chuck]

Shop as in listen to offers, but ignoring just about all of them. As for an expert playmaker? His name will not be Danault. If they want an upgrade at center I would look to replace him